EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — Despite a significant decline in unit shipments, revenue for the U.S. television market is expected to remain flat in 2013 compared to 2012 as larger, higher-priced LED LCD sets account for an expanding portion of sales.
While TV unit shipments in the United States are expected to decline 4 percent to 36 million, from 37.5 million in 2012, U.S. television revenue will amount to $28.2 billion in 2013, almost unchanged from $28.1 billion in 2012, according to a U.S. TV Market Tracker report from IHS.
The stronger performance for revenue will be generated by an increase in the average selling price (ASP) of all TVs. U.S. television average selling price is expected to rise 5 percent to $783 in 2013, up from $749 in 2012.
Veronica Thayer, IHS consumer electronics & technology analyst, attributed the performance to a slowing down in the replacement cycle of flat-panel displays and a growing demand for larger screen products.
“However, market revenue in 2012 and 2013 is expected to hold steady as shipments of larger-sized, more featurerich and higher priced sets continue to increase,” Thayer continued. “Illustrating this trend, shipments of liquid-crystal display televisions (LCD TVs) sized 55- to 59-inches are expected to surpass those in the 45- to 49-inch category in 2013 for the first time ever this year.”
LCD TVs in the 55- to 59-inch size range are expected to account for 10.2 percent of U.S. television shipments in 2013, up from 9.6 percent in 2012.
In comparison, sets ranging from 45- to 49-inches will decline to 8.3 percent of the market, down from 11.7 percent.
By 2018, the 55- to 59-inch segment will rise to 13.0 percent of total U.S. LCD TVs.
Meanwhile, shipments of 60-inch and larger LCD TVs this year will make up 9.6 percent, up from 6.6 percent in 2012.
The trend is expected to continue, with shipments climbing to 12 percent of the market in 2018.
In terms of revenue, growth will be even bigger, increasing to 35 percent in 2018, up from 18 percent in 2012, IHS projected.
Sets using LED backlighting technology in 2013 are forecast to increase to 28.9 million units, accounting for a total of 84 percent of the U.S. LCD TV market.
The number is up 48 percent from a total of 19.4 million LED-backlit TVs in 2012, according to IHS.
Old-school CRT TVs, meanwhile, continue to disappear and are expected to be virtually gone in 2016.
“LED TVs have been a big consumer hit, marketed on the basis of being eco-friendly and with better image quality,” said Thayer. “Meanwhile, the price differential between CCFL- and LED-backlit sets in smaller sizes has dwindled down.”
